Why Is Texas Getting All the Snow?

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What do Chicago, New York City, Minneapolis and Boston have in
common this winter? They all have had less snow than Midland,
Texas.

The lower 48 states have had a
wimpy winter, but with a few
snow oddities. Perhaps the oddest of all: Midland has seen a
whopping 19.5 inches (49.5 centimeters) of snow so far this year.
That's more than double the snow total for New York City or
Boston this winter, and even tops a few of the big boys of snow
from the Midwest.

This year's active
La Niña pattern, a cooling of the waters of the equatorial
Pacific, would usually mean dry conditions for west Texas. But
not this year. Jets of air that dip down from the Arctic — almost
like rivers in the atmosphere — have split in two. One of these
cold jets has dipped far south in a phenomenon called a "southern
stream split," overwhelming that dry pattern this year.

A southern stream split develops when "the main polar jet splits,
and digs out to the south on the southern split, and storm
systems develop," said Greg Murdoch of the National Weather
Service office in Midland. The southern stream split has carried
low-pressure systems into west Texas, bringing cold air and snow.

The northern branch of the split has carried the cold air farther
north of the typically snowy cities in the United States, so
they've been too warm to see much snow. Some of these big cities'
snowfalls look even tinier when compared to last year's.

Boston has had 7.8 inches (19.8 cm) of snow so far this winter,
versus 81 inches (206 cm) all last winter and 45 inches (114 cm)
on average for winter over the past 30 years.

New York City has had 7.4 inches (18.8 cm) of snow this winter,
versus 62 inches (157 cm) last winter. The city's 30-year average
is 2 inches (5 cm) a winter.